hässlichvshässlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“hässlich” and “hässlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,806
“hässlich” frequency rank
#15,915
“hässlichen” frequency rank
22721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hässlich hässlichen
Definition unschön aussehend, nicht den vorherrschenden Normen über gutes Aussehen entsprechend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich

Where the eye mixes hässlich and hässlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. hässlich runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against hässlichen's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
hässlich
10 ch
hässlichen

Look-alike desk: hässlich vs hässlichen

A purely visual mix-up. hässlich ([ˈhɛslɪç]) and hässlichen ([ˈhɛslɪçn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “hässlich” sits inside “hässlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hässlich is recorded at frequency rank #6,806, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪç]. hässlichen is at rank #15,915, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪçn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 22721, this pair ranks #1,870,585 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hässlich vs hässlichen

Shared letters: chilsä. Private to "hässlich": -. Private to "hässlichen": en.

"hässlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "hässlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hässlich" for "hässlichen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛslɪç] versus [ˈhɛslɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "hässlich" vs "hässlichen" - which ranks higher?
"hässlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,806 in our German list, against #15,915 for "hässlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "hässlich" and "hässlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hässlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hässlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,870,585 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hässlich" and "hässlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Haslach vs hässlich". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,870,585 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list